On Tuesday, May 4th, I watched the latter half of the Eden Prairie City Council meeting covering the potential impact of the proposed Pulte residential housing development to the Frederick-Miller spring. While I appreciated the divergent points of view, I realized that I needed to study the facts myself as well as revisit the spring and surrounding watershed to fully appreciate the discussion. I reached out to the city and obtained a copy of the council meeting presentation materials reflecting the hydrology survey and also visited the spring and surrounding watershed to develop my own conclusions regarding this matter. Although…
Author: Letter to Editor
I am utterly disgusted and whole heartedly disappointed as an environmentalist and concerned citizen that has lived in EP for 16 years on the unanimous decision you made last night without taking into account all the data, comments and research presented to allow an Environmental study is beyond disgusting to me. I grew up in MPLS and decided to raise our family out here because of the close connection to history, nature and the environment. The Developments in the last 10 years has been running rampant in Eden Prairie. There is less and less prairie and more and more concrete.…
The members of the Eden Prairie City Council are elected to represent the best interests of the community. On May 4, 2021, the Eden Prairie City Council unanimously voted against the best interests of a very special community, one that extends well beyond arbitrary lines on a map. The Fredrick-Miller Spring, Riley Creek, and the surrounding watershed is an invaluable natural and cultural resource. The City of Eden Prairie needs to ensure this special area is protected for future generations by conducting an updated, thorough scientific assessment before approving the proposed Noble Hill development. Tara Gardell Eden Prairie, MN
I’m very disappointed in our elected officials and the city council process. I thought we were following a fair process where 3200 petition signatures had a voice. Instead, the Mayor allowed Pulte 40 minutes to present their information. The concerned residents were only given 2 minutes to speak and present their support for an EAW. I thought our EAW would go to a neutral third party. A third party that would fairly evaluate the information presented by both parties in an unbiased way. There was no consideration given to the information that was provided by Professor Alexander from the University…
Welcome to another early spring, another warm year, with more and more climate and weather disaster records broken. If by now you don’t know the basics of global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, and the Kansas-like future of our state, I encourage you to connect the dots. And I ask you to think about our country’s future and our children’s prospects, including their economic well being. Our country’s energy economy is huge, and it’s now in transition from the 19th century to the 21st. Who will benefit in the global conversion away from fossil fuel? China is on their way to…
The Mayor of Eden Prairie thinks the petition for Fredrick-Miller Spring and Riley Creek is about the quality of the water coming from the Spring water source. He does not understand that the petition is beyond the water coming from the spigot. People love this unique area that just happens to be next to the Spring. The petition is about the Biodiversity of this area and the removal of over 455 heritage and significant trees and the effect on the overall area and wildlife. Given all the concerns from the community and the 3000 petition signers why won’t the City Council…
Regarding the Noble Hill housing project in Eden Prairie, it is extremely frustrating to see the lack of cooperation between the city and the citizens. The citizens and myself have asked repeatedly for scientific evidence to back up the mayor’s and the builder’s statements that the spring will not be harmed. They are both keen to repeat these comments without any proof. Furthermore, they only address the spring and mention nothing of the surrounding biodiversity and the creek which is already under restoration efforts. I fear that come May 4th, when the project is voted on, the builder will trot…
The letter-to-editor author, John E. Mallo, states the following letter was originally presented to the Eden Prairie City Council in November, 2019. “I am here tonight to talk about residential recycling services. The information that I will share with you tonight was given to me from State Representative Laurie Pryor and Hennepin Commissioner Jan Callison. For recycling, I contract with Republic Services, I pay $12.90 a month, my neighbor who contacts with Suburban Waste Services pays $8.30. According to Commissioner Jan Callison the average cost in Hennepin county for a single family home is $3.50. According to Rep. Laurie Pryor,…
In communities big and small across the state, thefts of catalytic converters are on the rise. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Minnesota is now in the top 5 states nationally for these thefts and in Eden Prairie alone, we are on pace to almost triple the number of reported catalytic converter thefts! Why are these thefts on the rise? Catalytic converters contain valuable precious metals, like palladium and rhodium, which are worth more per ounce than gold. These converters can be resold on the black or grey market, and the converters themselves are quite easy to steal. Taking only 1-2…
Dear Governor Walz, Last week’s dial turn and announcement is good news – getting some of our businesses closer to 100% open, flexibility in employers being able to bring back office staff, allowing larger events to happen and more. This should be celebrated. At the same time, the Eden Prairie Chamber, representing over 300 area employers and 34,000 area employees, continue to ask where is the plan? We want to share with businesses a plan that outlines and shares key dates and benchmarks that would provide dates for businesses to plan around moving forward, with flexibility to pull back based…